Head coach Gary Kubiak and players spoke to the media during open locker room and after practice Wednesday afternoon.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on today's practice) "We practiced well. We changed our schedule up a little bit. I'd like to change it every month. We're bouncing around pretty good; we're fresh from our two weeks. Our attention to detail was good."
(on FB Vonta Leach) "He's very physical. We've been operating with one true fullback this whole time, and that's a lot for Jameel (Cook) to carry. We're playing, especially this week, this team's got some really big outside linebackers. The thing that I wanted to do is…I'm concerned about our 45 that we've been suiting. We've had a few players (dressed) that haven't been doing much on special teams. I'm concerned about number 43, 44 and 45 on game day doing more for our team than just being a backup, and I think he has the chance to do that."
(on Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe's potential to be blitzed) "Philly, I think is as good as there is in football right now (at) going to get their quarterback, so that's definitely an issue. And Washington does it pretty good also. They've played some teams that come get their quarterback pretty good, but we have to be aggressive. For us, that's a message that we have to send out to our players. Hopefully we can find a way to do the same."
(on Dallas' running game) "I think they have two very good young backs. Not only are they good players, they have the ability to make big plays. They can go the distance with both of those kids and the way they use them. They use them very smart. One of them is kind of a nickel player in a lot of ways and the other is a base player. And they're just two fine players, very big up front to get head on head. You've got to play them honest because of their two receivers. They run against a lot of seven-man fronts so that made them successful."
(on Dallas' persistence with the run) "(Head coach) Bill (Parcells)'s going to play defense and run the football. That's how he builds his football teams, and that has been a successful tool for him in this league. You know when you play him that he's going to put together a good defensive football team that's going to find a way to run the ball. So you better be ready to handle those two to have a chance to win."
(on scripting for DE Mario Williams) "Yeah, we're trying to do that with him because the thing we want to do is, there are certain things that as a rookie he's not going to go do on his own, just from a technique standpoint. So we're trying to basically say, 'Hey, Mario out of ten rushes we want to see this five or six times.' So we are trying to do that with him. He's responded well. He looked really good today on one-on-ones. So, hopefully, he gets confidence from the last outing and gets better."
(on whether that kind of scripting is unusual) "No, that's not unusual. It's just paying attention to that one player in a lot of ways. If you just sent them out there and expect them to do that on their own they're not always going to do it when they're young. So we're trying to make sure that he's got a plan and we come out of the game seeing this move three times and that move three times, (and) now let's see how much better he got. But we're making him show us those things."
(on Williams' play) "He's getting better. He's really improved these two weeks with the couple of extra practices last week and the extra one this Monday and watching him today on one-on-one. But I think it's more of a confidence thing with him than anything. Some good things happened to him two weeks ago, and hopefully we can go from there."
(on whether there is any scripting for other players) "I think (defensive line coach Bob) Karmelowicz and (assistant defensive line coach) Tracy (Simien) and (defensive coordinator) Richard (Smith), they go into games and they want certain guys to do certain things; that doesn't change. But when a team throws the ball 30 times in a game and Mario is in a pass rush mode 20 times while we're doing this, we're just saying, 'When you're in a pass rush mode we want to see these types of things that we know you can do.' We're just trying to lock him in to certain modes."
(on QB Drew Bledsoe's lack of mobility) "Well (with) his launch point, he's a pocket player. He always has been, but at the same time they know that's where they want him to throw from so that's how they try to protect. But I've seen them in some very big situations move him and do some things that you wouldn't expect him to do. So you have to play honest, you can't expect (anything); nothing's 100% in this business."
(on CB Demarcus Faggins' status)"He's doing really, really well. I would say I'd be disappointed if he doesn't play next week. Right now I would say he would definitely be ready to go next week."
(on Dallas' focus after a loss) "I don't know, you've got to focus every week. You're talking about for them? You're asking about them? Well that's a huge game for them. They've only played one home game; they've been on the road three times if I'm correct. They've been to Jacksonville; they've been to Philly and Tennessee. In the first month they played three road games. That's tough on any team, and I'm sure they've got a couple of home games coming up here trying to refocus and get going against us. I mean we know we've got our work cut out. They'll be ready to play believe me I know they'll be ready to go."
(on his relationship with Coach Parcells) "As a player I went against him many times and of course I played him in that Super Bowl down there where they got after us pretty good. But I did have a chance this off season at Indianapolis. I was just down at the hotel lobby getting to know all these coaches who I know who they are but I really don't know them personally. Early one morning he kind of grabbed me and we talked for a few minutes and I was just very impressed with him, very good advice. He's a man's man; he's a hell of a coach. I have a lot of respect for him. He actually talked good and hard to me, which he needed to but I really appreciated it."
*WR Eric Moulds *
(on the Dallas secondary) "(CB) Aaron Glenn played here; he's their third corner. That kind of tells you how good their secondary is, when Aaron Glenn is your third corner. They're very athletic. Their safeties are hitting safeties. They are not really cover guys, but they come up in the run game and cause problems. So myself and Andre (Johnson) and Kevin (Walters) will be on our toes out there to try and make plays against those guys."
(on the Cowboys in general) "Dallas has always been a good football team. They have won a lot of Super Bowls there. They have a lot of pride there, so it's going to be an issue where they lost a game last week and they're going to come and want to win at home. We're going to have to be on our toes to go down there and win the game. Its going to be physical game on both sides, so its going to a challenge for us this week, but it's a challenge we're looking forward to going down there and playing and not making mistakes."
**C Mike Flanagan
(on facing the no-frills Dallas defense)** "I think it's the ultimate challenge. They're lining up, saying, 'You can't beat us. We're not disguising anything. We're going to be right here. If you're going to beat us, you're going to have to physically dominate us, man-on-man.' It's a challenge for our whole group, especially the offensive line to move the ball and protect (QB) David (Carr)."
(on how difficult it is to run successfully against a defense like Dallas) "It makes it hard. They're a good defense. They are what, top five, six in the league, so obviously it's a heck of a challenge for us. In this league there are not passes. No one is going to lay down for you. It's going to be a challenge every week. Sometimes one's tougher than the next, and this is one of those tough ones."
**RB Ron Dayne
(on whether the games he played against Dallas while with other teams help him this week)** "I don't know. I hope so, but just being able to get out and play and going in there to try and get a win, that's all we can do."
(on whether he thinks his running style can work against Dallas' defense) "I think so, but we have to play as a team first of all. If we go out there and play as a team and relax and let the game come to us we should be able to do pretty good against these guys."
(on how many rushes he hopes to have vs. Dallas) "Really, whatever it takes for us to win. If it's a lot of carries and I'm wearing them down or whatever then I'm ready to do it. If it's a few carries, and I'm scoring, then I'm ready to do that too."
(on the Dallas defensive line) "They are real strong upfront. They have some big guys upfront, and they run
a 3-4, so they can even put some of the big guys standing up. I think just them
being solid upfront is their thing. We're going to be sold and let the linebackers
and the secondary do the work."
